Looking at Mr. Simon, who looked like a native, and the question he asked, Lynch smiled and asked, "Do I need to know about this' Preton Trading Company '?"
Mr. Simon froze for a moment, and then he laughed. His face was very kind, which might have something to do with the fact that he was a little fat now.
Most fat people's faces would not make people feel uncomfortable as if they were ferocious. Their posture and appearance would give people a simple and honest feeling. This was also why people might hate fat people, but few people would think that fat people were a threat to them.
"Mr. Lynch, if you're just here for a tour in Najaril, then it doesn't matter if you know about the 'Preton Trading Company' or not. But if you plan to do business here, I think you'd better know about the 'Preton Trading Company' and its relationship with it!"
Mr. Simon's tone was no longer as calm as when the two first met. Although his tone and intonation had not changed much, there was still a sense of sharpness in his attitude.
He was warning Lynch, or at least reminding him of the importance of the 'Preton Trading Company'.
Lynch was not a person who would be easily threatened. No matter who he was facing, and whether he had the capital to resist, he was not the kind of person who would be easily threatened and coerced.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Lynch nodded. "Then, Mr. Simon, can I trouble you to introduce this … what is it again?"
"The Preton Trading Company!"
Simon's tone was a little heavier to express his dissatisfaction with Lynch's approach. He did not believe that Lynch would forget a word they had just discussed so quickly. He must have done it on purpose.
Then he began to do his job and introduced the Preton Trading Company.
Strictly speaking, the Preton Trading Company did not belong to anyone, and it was not like a proper trading company doing what a trading company should do. It was more like a chamber of commerce.
Every quarter, the trading company would hold a shareholders' meeting. Most of the foreign businessmen engaged in business investment in Najaril were shareholders of the Preton Trading Company.
In this meeting, these people would discuss a more peaceful way to allocate the business and quota of each person for the next quarter.
This sounded a little exaggerated. An organization like a chamber of commerce shouldn't have so much power, but it did.
This had something to do with Mr. Preston, the biggest shareholder of the Preston Chamber of Commerce. It was said that Mr. Preston had been in the navy before he went into business. He had a special obsession with the sea and was full of adventurous spirit.
In fact, Lynch was well aware of the significance of Mr. Preston serving in the navy when Simon mentioned it. Shipping, as the current main long-distance transportation method, was not as safe as people thought.
In this world, there would be more than one shipwreck every day. It was just that some were reported and some were ignored.
Mr. Preston had gained the trust of the people in his own way. He had made some very reasonable rules of the game, and everyone, including himself, was following them. At the same time, everyone hoped that the other newcomers would join them.
"… That's the general situation, Mr Lynch. Actually, the things you get by joining the Preston Merchant Guild are much more than what I just said!"
"For example!"
Mr. Simon raised his voice a little. "What's the most popular thing in Tiat now, what's the price of Metrick's things dropping … We share information like this in a timely manner!"
"You don't have to face those hateful intelligence dealers. With just a phone call, you can know the most timely commodity price trends all over the world. This has also brought several great benefits to our international trade."
"You know, sometimes we're willing to pay the penalty to leave things at the port for a period of time. Without these channels, we'll lose more!"
It sounded like they were willing to break the contract rather than fulfill it. In fact, this often happened in international trade, especially during certain periods of time when the price of goods fluctuated rapidly and greatly.
It was possible that the goods on a ship were only worth ten thousand dollars in the morning, and by night, it would become one million dollars. Therefore, people were willing to pay three to five times the penalty and not fulfill the contract, to ensure that more profits would not slip through their fingers.
Especially during wartime, the price of some ores and some important industrial production materials would always change day by day.
Perhaps a certain group had conquered a certain area and discovered some mineral deposits, causing the price of some materials to plummet. It was also possible that some facilities, including mining areas, were shelled and reduced production, or even stopped producing for a short period of time, causing the price of some raw materials to skyrocket.
This kind of change happened every day, even now. Some of the raw materials needed for post-war reconstruction were not much less than those needed during wartime. In fact, there would be more.
After all, the demand for construction was always more than the demand for destruction.
Therefore, it was important to have a rich and stable information channel. Relying on some shady means and sharing some information, Mr. Preston easily unified many businessmen operating in Najalil and formed a very special interest group around him.
This was also the reason why the local rulers did not like these people. When they united together, they became difficult to deal with, and they became greedier and greedier.
This was also a matter of course. When there was competition, it was always a small group of leading forces that ate until they were full, and then there would be meat bones and meat soup. Now that the benefits were distributed, no one suffered too much. It looked like everyone was a winner, but in fact, that was not the case.
The income of the former leading forces was reduced, and the ones who really benefited were the large number of small businessmen who lacked competitiveness. In order to satisfy some people's demand for more profits, increasing the net profit ratio became the main method.
Higher prices, higher profit margins, naturally became greed in the eyes of the local rulers.
"Mr. Lynch, this is a good opportunity. I invite you to join us. This is a rare opportunity!"
Mr. Simon tried his best to persuade Lynch.
In addition to Mr. Preston personally calling him, what happened to Lynch also made him a little frightened.
It was important to know that in the territory divided by the Preston Company, Mr. Simon's main business was in the Magulana Province. Spices, some animal fur, some jewelry, and gold were his main business items.
Everything was very peaceful, and he had no complaints about it. He also knew that Mishehaye and some other people were making things difficult for Lynch.
In fact, everyone had more or less experienced this at the beginning. Mr. Simon also laughed and talked with some of his business friends about how long Lynch could last under the local rulers' targeting, and what he would do to solve it.
When Lynch was forced into a desperate situation, Mr. Simon and others would appear in front of Lynch and invite him to join the Preston Company. They would help him through the difficulties, and then give him a little quota to let him taste a little sweetness.
It was a good idea, but the reality was very strange. No one knew how Lynch dealt with it. People only knew that Lynch agreed to some of Mishehaye's requests, and in return, Mishehaye, who was actually the provincial governor, might agree to give Lynch the exclusive rights and import and export trading rights of some goods.
Mr. Simon could not sit still. This had seriously affected his interests. Once Lynch and the provincial governor reached an agreement, the internal and external trade pattern of the Magulana Province would immediately change.
The businessmen who did business in the local area would face an even more awkward situation. They had to leave because of the change in the attitude of the rulers and Lynch's power.
After so many years of business, it was difficult for them to give up the business and profits here. It would kill them!
In addition, Mr. Preston himself had called, which led to a meeting between him and Lynch.
Looking at Lynch's young face, Mr. Simon was a little emotional and nervous. He did not know if Lynch would agree. He looked at Lynch, trying to find something from this young face.
Lynch was silent for a while, weighing the pros and cons. In fact, he was very interested in the Preston Company. International trade information sharing was a very great thing.
At present, in the world, except for a few countries that had telephone lines or transit lines between them, there were many countries that did not have direct telephone lines between them.
For example, there was no direct telephone connection between the Federation and Nagalil. Telegrams were not only expensive, but they were also not necessarily reliable and safe. Therefore, people preferred to send messages through letters.
However, the delivery of letters was too slow. If they were lucky, it would take a week to deliver. If they were unlucky, it would take half a month or even longer. Trade opportunities often happened in a very short period of time. If they missed it, they would miss it forever.
Wait half a month?
His ashes would be cold!
However, he wasn't willing to join the Preton Merchant Guild just because of this. He was thinking about how to get the benefits of joining a merchant guild without joining the Preton Merchant Guild.
He looked at Mr. Simon again with a hint of playfulness in his eyes. This made Mr. Simon feel inexplicably uneasy. He checked his clothes and touched his chin to make sure there was nothing wrong with him. Then, he braced himself to meet Lynch's gaze. "Have you thought about it, Mr. Lynch?"
Lynch raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "I can't answer your question in a short time. I need time to think about it. I never force others, and I don't want to be forced by others. Do you understand what I mean?"
Mr. Simon was unhappy, but he still forced a smile and nodded. "You should be more cautious …"